China's growing appetite for new tastes, smells   2002-11-02 15:36:11 Will there be enough to eat today？ Most Chinese are no longer worried by questions like this. Nowadays they are more likely to ask questions like "Where shall we eat tonight？ "or "what cuisine shall we try today？". In this episode of Changing China, our reporter Wang Conghui takes a closer look at how people's eating habits have changed in China. The landscape of China's media has been changing dramatically. Over the past decade, media companies have mushroomed and revenue has soared. There's also been a trend towards cross－media mergers as a way to build conglomerates and to embrace increasingly fierce competition. In tomorrow's Changing China series, our reporter A wide range of fresh and colorful vegetables can be seen in markets everywhere around China, no matter what the season. But not that long ago, families in northern China didn't have so many choices. Wang Conghui, our reporter said: "The Chinese cabbage used to be the only vegetable available in winter in northern China. Up till several years ago, at this time of the year, people stored up this kind of vegetable for the winter. However, things are changing now." A Customer said: "I used to buy five hundred kilograms of cabbage every year, but in the last few years, I've stopped buying so much because all kinds of fresh vegetables are available in the market now." A Cabbage Farmer said: "The need for Chinese cabbage has dropped in recent years." While cabbage farmers are complaining about the shrinking business, Chinese citizens are enjoying a greater variety of food. Not only at home, but everywhere！ Eating out has become something of a trend, especially among the young people and when treating friends. Jin Qing and Liu Jing are among those who have made it their mission to explore everything delicious in the city. In their new apartment, the kitchen is small and tidy. It's obvious they don't use it much. The newly－wed couple said a guide to the city's restaurants is much more useful to them now than a kitchen in their daily life. Liu Jing said: "We seldom eat at home or cook ourselves, we are very busy and neither of us can cook well. We usually eat out, check out the restaurant guide to try something new." Hot pot, hot food, just as HOT as China's booming restaurant business. Yang Jie, the owner of a restaurant on one of Beijing's most popular food streets, is especially happy. Her small restaurant, famous for its spicy crayfish, opened just five years ago. Back then, she was one of the first restaurants on the street. Her business has expanded quickly with the whole street becoming a favorite evening hangout for gourmets. Yang Jinling, a restaurant owner said: "Business at night is very good on the whole street. I used to have one restaurant, now I have three on this street, and all of them are full every night. I am so happy." More tastes, more varieties and more ways of enjoying food, that's how eating habits are changing in China. As Chinese people's curiosity about different cultures grows, so does their appetite for new flavors. And their taste buds will never be starved, for, as we speak, exotic new restaurants are sprouting up all over China.